Everything Video Games!

[LeSamourai]

I'm taking TOTK much slower than BOTW, but that's mainly because soon after I got BOTW I got viral pericarditis (a virus randomly attacked the membrane around my heart and it got inflamed and filled with liquid). I wasn't able to return to work for a month, and was generally too weak to even walk a block, so BOTW was a huge part of my life that month, giving me something to do and places to go during a time I couldn't go anywhere. This time I'm forced to take it a lot slower, having a life and all, but it's such a great game to dip into for half an hour or dive in for hours.

 

[wokeupnew]

I still haven’t gone down to the depths yet! I’m on my third temple and have all maps cleared except for Hyrule Forest/the Lost Forest area. I’d say I’m about 70 hours in, but I’d need to check my stats because it could be more.

Update I’m at 40 hours, I was wrong. It feels like I’ve been playing for 70 hours so far.

 

[Diaper Baby Escape Plan]

Finally getting around to playing Cyberpunk 2077. Definitely an interesting aesthetic and well-done world. It is often a very fleshed out world with just how many people are crammed into it like a proper city.

Variety of fighting styles available - stealth, hacking, combat - are fun. Story seems pretty good so far (just into Act II - post introduction of Reeves' character).

Can't comment on the problems that plagued the game because, one, I'm laying on PC and most probs seemed to have been console and, two, I think they've been worked out anyway.

 

[Tillman]

Finally getting around to playing Cyberpunk 2077. Definitely an interesting aesthetic and well-done world. It is often a very fleshed out world with just how many people are crammed into it like a proper city.

Variety of fighting styles available - stealth, hacking, combat - are fun. Story seems pretty good so far (just into Act II - post introduction of Reeves' character).

Can't comment on the problems that plagued the game because, one, I'm laying on PC and most probs seemed to have been console and, two, I think they've been worked out anyway.

my buddy and I both played it on Stadia (RIP) when it first came out and he since got it on PS5 and from the little I've seen it looks so much better than it was at launch.... that said I really enjoyed it even back when it was considered broken

 

[Diaper Baby Escape Plan]

my buddy and I both played it on Stadia (RIP) when it first came out and he since got it on PS5 and from the little I've seen it looks so much better than it was at launch.... that said I really enjoyed it even back when it was considered broken

I had one motorcycle disappear on me when I finished selling some stuff, but besides that doesn't seem buggy at all after 10 hours of play. Although, much like GTA's, motorcycles are my fave vehicles so that did annoy me.

I do find myself going to different points on foot alot. Especially during the day - the city is so alive and bustling w activity.

 

[epyon415]

I can be confirm that there ARE evil hands in the depths

Spoiler

(check under the Korok Forest area)

Has anyone tried killing them yet? I did, but then…

Only had THAT happen one time. Thought it was related to the shrine I was going after.

Ugh to dealing with them underground but oh well.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Played Diablo IV all weekend. Just got up to level 40.

God I love the hydra.

 

[LeeVing]

Played Diablo IV all weekend. Just got up to level 40.

God I love the hydra.

I started with the Rogue. I finished the campaign last night and then did the capstone dungeon to open World Tier 3. Now to grind for better loot.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

I started with the Rogue. I finished the campaign last night and then did the capstone dungeon to open World Tier 3. Now to grind for better loot.

What are World Tiers? Are they the difficulty levels or areas of the map?

I went with sorcerer and have been doing every side quest and dungeon. I was got up to level 30 before even doing Act 1 Main quests, which I just finished.

 

[LeeVing]

What are World Tiers? Are they the difficulty levels or areas of the map?

I went with sorcerer and have been doing every side quest and dungeon. I was got up to level 30 before even doing Act 1 Main quests, which I just finished.

It's the difficulty setting mostly.

I did the campaign on world tier 1, as there isn't a big reason to do it on 2. But going to 3 and higher after the campaign is to get the higher tier loot.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

I didn't realize there were going to be seasons. What can we expect out of seasons? Will the game be noticeably different every 3 months?

 

[Fillip J Phry]

I haven't made a gaming update in ages, so let's do that!

I feel like I've barely touched Tears of the Kingdom, probably only have 7-8 hours so far. What I will say is that I have loved my time so far. Also, minecart shields, that is all.

I passed all the songs on Expert in Theaterhythm just before TotK came out. Still need to go back and do all the quests, and play the DLC songs. Really fun game if you are into rhythm games and Final Fantasy music.

Been spreading the rest of my time between several games, currently playing Destiny 2, Persona 3, and Binding of Isaac, on top of Zelda. Detiny's my "turn my brain off" game, don't play too many grindy games, but I have a lot of fun with this one. I play Hunter, and am glad they brought Arc back into focus. Got my build set up now for infinite punches. Basically, my dodge roll refills and powers up my special punch, which in turn refills my dodge if I get a kill with it. So I just roll around smacking everything. It's chaotic and a lot of fun.

I'm almost done with my first playthrough of Persona 3, currently in November. At this point I'm not sure if a second run is worth it, or if I should just move on to 4. Game is a bit dated and has its problems, but also has enough that I like to keep me going.

As for Isaac, I'm currently in hell - par for the course, but I put myself in Extra Special Hell. No longer doing random runs for now, I've been focusing purely on completion marks for Tainted Isaac. I have 4 currently - Mom's Heart, Boss Rush, Hush, and I just got the one for Dogma/Beast. What's sad is that I realized that after what feels like hundreds if not thousands of attempts and restarts, I got my first actual win with the character. The other marks I got on runs that ended in a death. I swear this game cranks the BS meter way up with this character. On the plus side, when I do finish this I'll be godlike with the other characters!

 

[LeeVing]

I didn't realize there were going to be seasons. What can we expect out of seasons? Will the game be noticeably different every 3 months?

I really only played the last season on Diablo 3, but from that it wasn't all that different. Mostly they had a quality of life tree to complete that made things easier.

That being said, I don't think you are required to make a new "seasons" character if you don't want to....at least that was how it was on Diablo 3.

 

[bettim84]

I haven't made a gaming update in ages, so let's do that!

I feel like I've barely touched Tears of the Kingdom, probably only have 7-8 hours so far. What I will say is that I have loved my time so far. Also, minecart shields, that is all.

I passed all the songs on Expert in Theaterhythm just before TotK came out. Still need to go back and do all the quests, and play the DLC songs. Really fun game if you are into rhythm games and Final Fantasy music.

Been spreading the rest of my time between several games, currently playing Destiny 2, Persona 3, and Binding of Isaac, on top of Zelda. Detiny's my "turn my brain off" game, don't play too many grindy games, but I have a lot of fun with this one. I play Hunter, and am glad they brought Arc back into focus. Got my build set up now for infinite punches. Basically, my dodge roll refills and powers up my special punch, which in turn refills my dodge if I get a kill with it. So I just roll around smacking everything. It's chaotic and a lot of fun.

I'm almost done with my first playthrough of Persona 3, currently in November. At this point I'm not sure if a second run is worth it, or if I should just move on to 4. Game is a bit dated and has its problems, but also has enough that I like to keep me going.

As for Isaac, I'm currently in hell - par for the course, but I put myself in Extra Special Hell. No longer doing random runs for now, I've been focusing purely on completion marks for Tainted Isaac. I have 4 currently - Mom's Heart, Boss Rush, Hush, and I just got the one for Dogma/Beast. What's sad is that I realized that after what feels like hundreds if not thousands of attempts and restarts, I got my first actual win with the character. The other marks I got on runs that ended in a death. I swear this game cranks the BS meter way up with this character. On the plus side, when I do finish this I'll be godlike with the other characters!

I’m an extremely monogamous gamer, so when I read about people playing multiple games at once it just blows my mind.

I’m about 70h into TOTK and just started my third temple. Still at only about 1/3 of the shrines, and have the entire bottom half of the ground map plus Akkala to clear. Also have multiple “Xs” to locate in the Depths, fairies to open up, memories to see, etc. Such a massive game.

 

[wokeupnew]

I’m an extremely monogamous gamer, so when I read about people playing multiple games at once it just blows my mind.

I’m about 70h into TOTK and just started my third temple. Still at only about 1/3 of the shrines, and have the entire bottom half of the ground map plus Akkala to clear. Also have multiple “Xs” to locate in the Depths, fairies to open up, memories to see, etc. Such a massive game.

I'm the same way. Sometimes I'll try a new game for a couple of hours, not play it for like 4 months, finally come back to it and play it exclusively until I'm done with it.

 

[EvanBenner]

My S.O. has been pretty excited for Diablo IV. We started doing regular co-op nights in recent months with D4 on the to-play list. I wasn't familiar with the franchise, so we booted up Diablo 2 last Friday to practice the play style. (Never been much for isometric games.) Made it through a few acts in D2 before switching over to D4 once it exited early access on Tues., but we'll be sure to finish D2 later. (Blizzard put up some great recap videos on Youtube so newbs like me could get to know the story up to this point.)

D4's been a lot of fun so far with only a few small bugs. The main issue we've run into is just how shit the PS5's DualSense battery life is. Most we can get through each evening is like 66% coverage of a single map zone and clear a couple of main dungeons before needing a recharge. I usually don't notice the battery life when doing extended weekend gaming solo because I can just swap controllers fresh off the charger as needed, but playing duo means we've both got to call it a night when the controllers do.

In D2 I practiced with a necromancer class, and in D4 I switched over to sorcerer. My partner's been running a tank style druid so we've been a good combo with my ranged casting/summons.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

My S.O. has been pretty excited for Diablo IV. We started doing regular co-op nights in recent months with D4 on the to-play list. I wasn't familiar with the franchise, so we booted up Diablo 2 last Friday to practice the play style. (Never been much for isometric games.) Made it through a few acts in D2 before switching over to D4 once it exited early access on Tues., but we'll be sure to finish D2 later. (Blizzard put up some great recap videos on Youtube so newbs like me could get to know the story up to this point.)

D4's been a lot of fun so far with only a few small bugs. The main issue we've run into is just how shit the PS5's DualSense battery life is. Most we can get through each evening is like 66% coverage of a single map zone and clear a couple of main dungeons before needing a recharge. I usually don't notice the battery life when doing extended weekend gaming solo because I can just swap controllers fresh off the charger as needed, but playing duo means we've both got to call it a night when the controllers do.

In D2 I practiced with a necromancer class, and in D4 I switched over to sorcerer. My partner's been running a tank style druid so we've been a good combo with my ranged casting/summons.

Last weekend I started playing at 7:00am and was able to play through to about 6pm before my DuelSense batter was done each day. It was a great weekend for gaming. 49 degrees, cold, raw and drizzling out.

I don't know if you knew this or not, but you can plug the DuelSense into any USB C charger and continue to play. When my battery goes dead I use my MacBook Charger by the couch to continue to play.

 

[TrystanBeanfsi]

It sounds like you're having a blast with Tears of the Kingdom and Theaterhythm! I can totally relate to the satisfaction of passing songs on Expert. As for Destiny 2, I love having a ""turn my brain off"" game too. Your Hunter build sounds insanely fun, rolling around and delivering punches left and right. And kudos on your progress in Persona 3 and Binding of Isaac! But, I've been playing different games on my phone lately and even managed to make some extra cash. One game I've been enjoying is Bingo Cash. Speaking of cash, there's a post titled Does Blackout Bingo Pay Real Money? that you might find interesting.

 

[EvanBenner]

Last weekend I started playing at 7:00am and was able to play through to about 6pm before my DuelSense batter was done each day. It was a great weekend for gaming. 49 degrees, cold, raw and drizzling out.

I don't know if you knew this or not, but you can plug the DuelSense into any USB C charger and continue to play. When my battery goes dead I use my MacBook Charger by the couch to continue to play.

Yeah, we had to plug one controller in to finish off a dungeon quest last night. Hadn't thought of other chargers though. We have a power strip right under the couch, so that would be so much more convenient than sitting directly in front of the screen with a short USB-C cord plugged into the console. Might also look into the vibration settings to see if they are higher than needed.

 

[EvanBenner]

The Xbox showcase was the most consistently interesting of the big announcement season so far. Enough to possibly tip my Xbox consideration from "buy eventually" to "probably get one soon."

Xbox Games Showcase 2023 and Starfield Direct Double Feature: Every Announcement and Reveal - Xbox Wire

For the first time ever, today saw not just one, but two enormous showcases from Xbox and Bethesda, revealing a line-up of our most ambitious games ever. In Xbox Games Showcase 2023, we showed off the future of our platforms – from console, to PC, and beyond – and brought you the games you’ve...

news.xbox.com

Biggest prospects for me are Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess for it's gorgeous, yokai-ridden psychedelia, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II because Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was already incredible, and South of Midnight had one hell of a concept trailer—def going to want to see some gameplay on that before committing though. Phantom Liberty will definitely get me to resume my Cyberpunk 2077 play through soon (I enjoyed everything so far, have just been sidetracked with other priorities). Honorable mentions to Clockwork Revolution and Still Wakes the Deep.

There's a lot to take in for Starfield, but all very promising. Seems like a game that can satisfy all kinds of play styles, so my partner can start an alien creature farm and ignore plotlines, while I might prioritize alien intelligence research (ha!).

On my partner's side of things, sounds like Fable, Avowed, Monkey Island crossover in Sea of Thieves, and the new Atlus RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio are decent bets.

Definitely a solid showing for Xbox which needed to bring some excitement.